Tutorial: Master the Photoshop Pen Tool in under 8 minutes

Ahh, the Pen Tool! When it comes to making complex selections and cutting objects out of an image, there is no better tool for the job. And while the Lasso Tool or Magic Wand Tool might make selections faster and easier (and are still quite useful depending on the situation), the Pen Tool reigns supreme when it comes to accuracy and precision.

So, what’s the drawback? Well, it’s pretty tricky to get the hang of it. Even with all of the helpful videos and guides out there (including a handful of our own), we still get questions all the time on how to master this extremely versatile tool within Photoshop. In our most recent tutorial on the Pen tool, we focused on the absolute need-to-know fundamentals so that you can follow along and start practicing immediately.

Not only does the Pen Tool provide unparalleled accuracy and control, but it’s extremely flexible as well. Photoshop will store any Paths you create under the Paths tab. If you ever need to adjust a selection as you work, you can simply select the Path you wish to edit, make the changes that you need, and then convert that Path into a new selection.

Before editing a Path, be sure to check Auto Add/Delete in the Pen Tool options bar. This will tell Photoshop to automatically swap to the Add Anchor Point Tool (when you’re hovering over a line segment) or the Delete Anchor Point Tool (when you’re hovering over an Anchor Point). This setting makes the process of making changes to a Path much easier.

Avoid using the Delete or Backspace keys to remove Anchor Points! These shortcuts will delete the selected point as well as the line segments that connect to it!

Another key to mastering the Pen Tool is making sure that your precision selections look realistic within the context of an image. I know that we use the Pen Tool for its clean lines and curves, but rarely in the real world will you find a completely hard edge. To maintain realism in your selections, be sure to add a bit of feathering to account for the naturally occurring softness in photographs. It’s a subtle change that will help avoid that “Photoshopped” look.

And if you ever feel lost, just remember your “home base” keyboard shortcuts:

Use CTRL or CMD to toggle the Direct Selection Tool which will allow to move a Point or a Curve at any time.

Use ALT or OPTN to convert a Point into a Curve or vice versa.

For an even smoother workflow, toggle the Hand Tool by using the Spacebar. The Hand Tool allows you to navigate around your image by clicking and dragging, eliminating any need for you to have to zoom out, scroll, and zoom back in to continue a Path.

And most the most important tip of all: practice, practice, practice! The Pen Tool completely changed how I work within Photoshop and if you put in the time, I’m confident that you’ll see a considerable improvement in your own work as well.

You shouldn't fix what it isn't broken. This world that we live in is comprised of so many things that are basically perfect for what they are, and there is no need to go beyond them, like basic human diet, the internal combustion engine, DSLR's, etc. However, there are always going to be people that go against the current and try to find solutions to problems that don't exist, while dismissing tried and tested things as dinosaurish or archaic. One of the many quirks of the human nature.

I had a friend like you . I remember when he was telling me his Pentium one gigahertz was all the power we would ever need and a one gig hard drive was larger than we could ever fill up. Thankfully people like you and him don't have any say in these things and in progress we move forward.

Comment on creativity: The problem with lateral thinking is that it always looks pointless until it looks brilliant, and often it takes time to implement the brilliance, resulting in the lateral thinking process and even the brilliant ideas being dismissed too early.

This is the best Photoshop video I have seen by a long way. Very clear and presented in a way that you should be able to follow to the letter.

Knowing how to use a totally unintuitive feature is well worth having. It could prove to be a godsend or not, but at least you have another item in your kit bag after sufficient practice. So I am going to give it a whirl.

I have been using Photoshop for 15 years and for the first twelve just built up increasing proficiency with the basics, those features and techniques for using them that served my purpose.

Recently I have become expert but only here and there, most of all with cloning you would not believe. Key for me is to replace a sky in a landscape with a complicated boundary, trees and branches often in front of it.

I mostly use On1 Perfect Suite when that is a big challenge and usually it works well but there may be cases when the pen tool is better. Time will tell.

I have found that I get better/faster results with a combination of the lasso tool, the polygonal lasso tool and the elliptical marquee tool, but to each it's own I guess. You do need a killer mouse and/or wacom. For the mouse, I haven't found anything better than the Logitech G502.

Some time ago, I bought a cheap Wacom tablet, the Bamboo. It can be very useful because it is easier to follow a path accurate with your wrist and fingers able to move as nature intended. With a mouse you cannot control movements that accurately and sometimes there is a world of difference between the two.

@keepreal - I bought a wacom used a few years ago and used it twice.. just couldn't get used to the "hover to move mouse" and "press down to use it".. I'm pretty darn accurate with my mouse... been using one for over 30 years so its kinda like holding a pencil at this stage! But - I know lots of folks that use their wacoms and couldn't imagine using a mouse for edits.. so .. lots of choices!

He is one of the best photoshop teachers on the planet and unlike most of the internet-based experts touted by this site he knows what he’s talking about. Every time I use one of his techniques I’m happily surprised by how well it comes out. And, he is very generous with his .atn files.

Agreed back at you. I had been working with photoshop seriously for about 5 years before I could really understand and use what Aaron is talking about. Before that, Scott Kelby books are what put me on the right path. Kelby's writing style gets wearisome after awhile, but he's also a great teacher despite himself.

Me: I've come up with a 7 minute tutorial, it's going to revolutionise the industry. Man you go to youtube and you see a video for 8 minute photoshop and then you see one that can do the same in 7 minutes, which one you gonna pick.Stranger: Well I guess the 7 minute tutorialMe: Bingo, and we guarantee you'll learn just as much in 7 minutes, if not we'll send you the extra minute for free in the post. Stranger: Well unless someone comes up with a 6 minute tutorial, then you're in trouble.Me: What, no, no there's no 6 minute tutorial, it's 7 minutes, you can't learn all that stuff in 6 minutes, 7 minutes is the number. 7's the key number here. Think about it. 7-Elevens. 7 doors. 7, man, that's the number. 7 chipmunks twirlin' on a branch, eatin' lots of sunflowers on my uncle's ranch. You know that old children's tale from the sea. It's like you're dreamin' about Gorgonzola cheese when it's clearly Brie time, baby. Step into my office.Stranger: Why?Me; Cause you're f@kin fired man

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